The Kikimora
In Slavic homes, a small female spirit was said to spin at night, and to torment households that didn't keep order.
What was reported
The kikimora is a female house spirit of Slavic folklore, especially in Russia. She's described as small and thin, sometimes with a bird-like face, living behind the stove or in the cellar. At night she could be heard spinning, and she might help a tidy household with its chores.
In a messy or quarrelsome home, though, she'd tangle the thread, break dishes, tickle children awake and sit on sleepers' chests, bringing nightmares.
Explanations offered
The feeling of something pressing on a sleeper's chest closely matches sleep paralysis, and 'kikimora' was also used as a word for nightmares. She belongs to a family of house spirits alongside the domovoy. The composer Anatoly Lyadov wrote an orchestral piece about her.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Villages of northern Russia
- Witnesses
- Slavic tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.